The Less Things Change
by coffeeandcommunity
Summary: Full title: "The Less Things Change, the More They Never Seem the Same." Charlotte's questions and fears give Stacey a few realizations of her own. Post-series, by about two years. Very light femslash. Stacey/Charlotte. More detailed summary inside.


**A/N: Oneshot originally written for an LJ fic challenge community that I'm also posting here. Post-series, set about two years after "Graduation Day." Spoilers for the entire series, but particularly #3, "The Truth About Stacey." This is a Stacey/Charlotte femslash story (though you really have to squint to see it), so if either of those is not your thing, I suggest you hit the "back" button on your web browser. The title is from a lyric of "Who's That Man" by Toby Keith. Sorry if this isn't as good as my other stories, and if the formatting screws up, because it almost always does. Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: **The Baby-Sitters Club series and all associated copywritted material are the property of Scholastic, Inc. and Ann M. Martin, and all other respective owners. This work is an interpretation of the original series/characters and is intended for entertainment purposes only, not profit, and constitutes fair use. In other words, please do not sue unless you would like to assume thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Yeah, didn't think so.

**Summary: **Charlotte's questions and fears give Stacey a few realizations of her own.

**The Less Things Change, the More They Never Seem the Same**

Charlotte was long past the age of needing a sitter, or at least, she thought so. Charlotte had barely turned eleven that summer, but her friends' older siblings were already baby-sitting at that age, Becca and Vanessa's older sisters in particular making up part of the Baby-Sitters Club just a couple years ago. Dr. Johanssen said she probably wouldn't allow Charlotte to until high school, but she didn't mind since they decided that Charlotte was old enough to stay home alone when she started middle school. Unfortunately, they drew the line at Charlotte staying home alone overnight, but honestly, Charlotte was thankful for it, even if she'd never admit it. There had been a family emergency requiring both her parents to leave for the weekend, and since they didn't want Charlotte missing school or her music lessons, they decided to leave Charlotte behind. Dr. Johanssen had called the Baby-Sitters Club Wednesday afternoon frantic, unable to find someone able to stay over for the weekend.

Stacey pushed back a weekend she originally intended to spend with her father in New York and took the job, which she basically knew wouldn't even feel like work. Her parents gave Charlotte permission for a sleepover Friday night, leaving Stacey in charge of Charlotte, Vanessa Pike, Haley Braddock, and Becca Ramsey. She didn't see any of the girls nearly as much anymore, with Mallory away at boarding school and Jessi always so busy commuting to Stamford for dance.

So when Stacey showed up to the Johanssen house Friday night with her L.A. Gear duffle bag slung over one shoulder and a teaming plastic bag from Stoneybrook MegaVideo in her hands, she wasn't surprised by the site that greeted her: Dr. and Mr. Johanssen rushing around finalizing last-minute details before leaving, and all the girls sitting around the kitchen table debating what costumes to wear to the Halloween Hop next week and who Shea Rodowsky might ask to go with him. They bombarded her all at once, and even Charlotte barely noticed her parents slip out the door.

Two hours later, the girls wound up dancing and singing along to the Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video and then squealing over the fast-rising new band New Kids on the Block. Last year Charlotte's parents finally got the promised cable box, and Stacey was having almost as much fun, if not more than the girls. They eventually wore down and opened the MegaVideo bag to find "Beetlejuice" and "Ghostbusters" in anticipation of Halloween. They laid there in their sleeping bags on the living room floor, Stacey sitting with her back against the couch, and she noticed the girls starting to wane; Vanessa almost asleep, Haley well on her way, and Becca flopped over on her stomach, still happily engaged in the second movie. Charlotte...well, she'd been a bit restless until she climbed into Stacey's lap, but then quickly settled into a blissfully quiet contentment. Stacey nearly protested, because Char had been too old for this for a while, but then it occurred to her that Charlotte only ever got like this when something was bothering her.

Stacey felt Charlotte's shoulders relax and her head fall back on Stacey's shoulder, indicating that she'd finally fallen asleep. She looked over to Becca, who was the last one awake, but barely, and decided that after "Ghostbusters" she'd turn out the lights and turn in with the others. Once the credits rolled, she miraculously eased Charlotte out of her lap and into her sleeping bag without waking her, then stopped the tape. She rewound it, then put it away with her other things. After straightening up the kitchen, she went upstairs to check over everything, then down to the basement to do the same. She located Carrot sleeping in the office, then checked on each of the girls, before slipping into the bathroom to check her levels. Once the number returned exactly on target, she turned out the lights and crawled into her own sleeping bag for the night.

* * *

Stacey woke up around eight, slightly panicked that she'd overslept, only to find Haley already dressed and packing up, and Vanessa taking her things into the bathroom to get dressed. Charlotte sat up slightly bleary-eyed, indicating that she'd only just woken up, too. Becca, on the other hand, was still sleeping. They were all on a tight schedule that morning, since Charlotte needed to leave for her guitar lesson at ten, then she'd have a piano one right after that, both located at the Stoneybrook Arts Center. Claudia would come pick up Charlotte on her way to a sculpting class she'd decided to take there.

She grabbed her clothes and climbed the stairs to the master bathroom, simply to save time. Doing only enough to look presentable (i.e. check her levels, take her insulin, put on mascara and lipgloss, change into acid wash jeans and an off the shoulder sweatshirt), she ran back downstairs to check on the girls. She found Becca finally beginning to stir, Haley helping Vanessa gather her things to save time, and Charlotte dressed and lugging her sleeping bag back to her room. Stacey made her way to the kitchen at 8:45, looking for something for breakfast. Fortunately Dr. Johanssen thought ahead and picked up a bulk box of mixed assortment muffins, including bran ones for Stacey, which she set out, along with milk and juice and a bowl of apples and bananas on the counter for the girls.

Haley and Vanessa wandered in, grabbing a couple of blueberry muffins and glasses of juice each, and ate while discussing their plans for the day. Charlotte came next, reporting that Becca was finally awake and in the bathroom getting ready, and sat with Stacey and the other girls after grabbing her own breakfast. Once Becca was dressed she came in and joined the rest.

Stacey remained quiet while the other girls talked and laughed about their classmates and teachers. They were sixth-graders now, in their first year at SMS, and loving it. Mostly. She watched Charlotte's interactions, how she seemed completely normal until her eyes clouded over at random intervals, how she didn't laugh like the other girls. Once they'd all finished eating, Haley and Vanessa set off for their houses, Becca went to get her stuff, and Charlotte began gathering her music books and guitar case from upstairs. By 9:45, Charlotte saw Becca off and Claudia had arrived to hang out for a few minutes before leaving with Charlotte.

Stacey spent the time alone working on homework after catching a new episode of "Saved by the Bell," and preparing lunch for them and Claudia, who she knew would likely stay for a little while. Around one they arrived back to the house, and sat down to soup, salad, and sandwiches. Charlotte did homework afterward, and Claudia left to walk home and do the same.

They ate leftover pizza and salad for dinner, both looking out the window at the unexpected storm starting to roll in. While watching reruns of "The Cosby Show," Charlotte's favorite, the power blinked a few times before finally going out altogether. Charlotte shrieked, mainly from shock, before reaching out for Stacey in the dark.

"Hey Stacey," Charlotte began hesitantly, "do you remember that time you baby-sat me when you first moved here and the power went out?"

"Yeah, that's when you decided you weren't afraid of storms anymore," Stacey grinned, because she'd thought of the exact same time. Her smile slipped slightly when she realized that Charlotte was now only about a year younger than Stacey back then.

"Yeah, you've helped me get over a lot of my fears," Charlotte acknowledged while she pulled them off the couch to search for flashlights and candles, into a pause full of all the things that Charlotte left unsaid all weekend long. Finally, Stacey broke the silence.

"Charlotte, are you okay?" Stacey felt Charlotte tense beside her, and it only spurred her on. "Last night you seemed a little out of it with your friends."

"It's just...I hate when they get that way," Charlotte whispered, and Stacey wished more than anything in that moment to see Charlotte's face. But Stacey got the feeling that the darkness was the only reason Charlotte even revealed that much.

"What, you mean all giggly and loud? I hate to tell you Char, but you're like that, too," Stacey smirked, thinking she'd solved the problem.

"No, not that," Charlotte's voice masked frustration far beyond her eleven years. "I don't mind that, it's just when they get that way over _boys_. It's like, they don't care about anything else anymore. What about music, and books, and art, and-"

"Char, relax," Stacey cut in, "it's okay if you're not ready for the world of boys. Trust me, it's not always as fun as it seems."

"It's not that I haven't liked boys before, because I have," she explained. "But it was just...a kid thing. Not like, a real boyfriend. You had boyfriends all the time, Stacey."

Stacey's face flushed, embarrassed by the actions of her younger self. "Yeah, but not every girl does. I didn't start really dating boys like that until I was thirteen, and even then I really didn't need to date so many all the time. Kristy Thomas didn't care a thing in the _world _about boys almost until high school, and even then the only serious one was Bart. It feels like a really big deal, but trust me it's not."

"But Stacey, it's not just that. Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna get left behind, like no one really understands it. No one really understands _me, _not anymore. You're the only one, Stace. I'm only really myself when I'm with you. What if no one else ever will?" Charlotte lacked the panicky tone of her seven-year-old self when expressing her fears, but still held the undertones of self-doubt that Stacey knew would remain well into high school.

"I promise, Charlotte, you'll find that someone. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or even next year," Stacey warned patiently, "but if you just listen to what your heart is trying to tell you, and not what everyone else wants you to hear, it'll be okay."

"Even though it's all dark and stuff," Charlotte laughed, changing the subject, "I think tonight's sleepover will be _way_ better than last night's."

Just as they found the hall closet where the Johanssen's kept the emergency candles, the lights came back on, and what Stacey saw nearly took her breath away. Charlotte was a pretty little girl growing up into a beautiful nearly teenaged one, but she'd never really believed it. Stacey hardly could, either; long straight brown hair a bit tangled from laying on the couch, big dark eyes, and an adorable dimpled smile. Now she also saw that while Char was still small, she now measured only three inches shorter than Stacey. She felt the callouses on Charlotte's fingers for the first time from all the years of music and saw those dark eyes still wide and full of innocence, but not quite the childlike kind anymore. She didn't understand how, but Charlotte became the most beautiful young girl in her school in just a couple short years. Stacey also didn't understand why she'd forever think of Charlotte every time she heard "Brown-Eyed Girl" on her mom's favorite oldies station. No, not _that _version.

But more than anything, Stacey felt lately that Charlotte had outgrown her, and in many ways Charlotte proved her right. But this conversation reminded her of two simple things: that they'd reached the age where not everything could be fixed with a hug and a Kid-Kit, and that no matter how old she became, Charlotte would always need her, and the reverse remained the same. Even when Charlotte invariably discovered that she'd make an amazing songwriter someday (Stacey knew it'd happen any day now), or when she acted exactly as she was: a confused, frightened preteen girl. Stacey needed that person in her life that loved her with no conditions or exceptions, no matter where she decided to live or with whom, who didn't leave her for a boy or a better offer. Even though there were so many questions starting to form in the back of her mind about Charlotte and even herself, she knew that this moment with Charlotte, and every other one with her, were all that would ever really matter.


End file.
